The invention broadly relates to control valves, and is specifically directed to a gas valve for gas fueled appliances which valve permits operation only when a pilot burner in the appliance is in operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,576, which issued on Apr. 10, 1976, and is commonly known with this patent application, discloses a gas valve opened by a mechanism that is actuated only if a pilot flame is established. Such a "supersafe" function is a requirement in many European countries. This requirement is satisfied by the gas valve of U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,576.
Current U.S. regulations, however, require that such valve include dual, independently operable safety mechanisms to ensure that the valve is automatically closed in the event a problem is encountered with the gas appliance, thus cutting off the supply of gas to the appliance. In addition, current U.S. regulations require that, after a gas valve is operated to light the pilot flame on the appliance, a manual movement other than simple release of a control knob must be performed in order to initiate supplying of gas to the main burner.
The present invention is a modification of the valve of U.S. Pat. No. 3,973,576 which brings it into compliance with current U.S. regulations, while maintaining compliance with European "supersafe" requirements.